In this devotional address delivered at the New Vedic Cultural Center (NVCC) in Pune, HH Radhanath Swami honors His Holiness Śrīla Gopāla Kṛṣṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja for his extraordinary contributions to the ISKCON movement. Swami highlights Maharaj’s unparalleled record of distributing Srila Prabhupāda’s books, constructing and inaugurating numerous temples, and providing prasadam, attributing these achievements to his deep devotion and divine empowerment. He emphasizes that Maharaj’s life exemplifies the Bhagavad‑gītā’s secret of knowing and loving Krishna. The speaker then issues a heartfelt call to the Pune community and devotees worldwide to reciprocate Maharaj’s compassion by undertaking a “marathon” of book distribution, framing it as a sacrificial offering that will please both Maharaj and Srila Prabhupāda. The address blends reverent praise, spiritual teaching, and persuasive motivation, concluding with gratitude and a prayer for collective success in spreading the teachings of Krishna.
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Krishna pristaya bhutale, Sri Matai bhaktivedanta, Swamin itti namine. Namaste Saraswati Devi, Gauravani pracharine, Nirbhisheesha Shunyavadi. Prabhunityananda Sri Aduyide Gadadhara Shivase Digo Bhaktabrinda. Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. I am sincerely honored, grateful, and feel very blessed to be among all of the assembled devotees in the presence of His Holiness Śrīla Gopāla Kṛṣṇa Gosvāmī Mahāprabhu. Maharaj, I cannot properly express my gratitude to you. Śrīla Gopāla Kṛṣṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja has been inspiring us and encouraging us to find true happiness and to share true happiness through sharing Śrīla Prabhupāda's compassion. With the people of Pune, Maharashtra, India, and the whole world through the distribution of Śrīla Prabhupāda's books? How is it that when he comes here every year to Pune, he invests in all of your hearts with the potency to perform miracles of hundreds and hundreds and thousands of books distributed. He speaks with realization. In the history of our movement, Śrīla Gopāla Kṛṣṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja has distributed the maximum number of books through his inspiration, and miraculously, through his compassion, whoever he affects distributes more and more books every year. Śrīla Gopāla Kṛṣṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja has built and opened more temples than anyone in the history of our movement. And practically every temple is magnificent with thriving congregations, thriving ashrams. Śrīla Gopāla Kṛṣṇa Gosvāmī, in the history of our movement, has distributed more plates of Kṛṣṇa's Prasadam. It is only possible because he is intimately empowered by Śrīla Prabhupāda's divine grace. And that empowerment is coming because of his true love and surrender to please Śrīla Prabhupāda. His life, his example is teaching us what Bhagavad-gītā declares to be the most secret of all secrets: to know Krishna and to love Krishna. Śrīla Prabhupāda, the efforts, the sacrifices that he made To provide these books to us is one of the greatest gestures of love of God this world has ever seen. Because Śrīla Gopāla Kṛṣṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja has taken so seriously Śrīla Prabhupāda's mission of compassion He's given his entire life to share it with the world. His age, his health— how is it even possible for him to come here all the way to Pune simply to request us to receive Śrīla Prabhupāda's mercy by giving that mercy to others. His sitting on this asana is thousands of times a greater sacrifice than all of us together going out every day and making sacrifices to distribute these books. He's living and he's willing to die at any moment to show compassion to the fallen souls and give happiness to the people who are suffering. Not just happiness, but the happiness of the soul in pure devotional service. Krishna prema, love for Krishna. I only request one thing, and it's my humble message. Please, all of the community of Pune and all of the community of the devotees Throughout the world, let us reciprocate Śrīla Gopāla Kṛṣṇa Gosvāmī's compassion, his mercy on us, by making this month a sacrificial offering of devotion to please him by distributing Śrīla Prabhupāda's books. Marathon. Śrīla Prabhupāda, I think, chose that word. I don't know. But the word marathon indicates really struggling to reach a goal against all odds, untiring. Maharaj is an example of this. I am astounded because I have seen the community of Pune over the decades, how he has transformed you and empowered you from a little simple hut in the military area, cantonment, whatever, to becoming the largest center for book distribution in the world. Maharaj, we're going to try our best to make you happy. They're both happy. That is how we can make Śrīla Prabhupāda happy, by making you happy. Thank you very much. Śrīla Prabhupāda ki jana.
